Jan Tvrdek Fly Vice
Paul Barker gets a firm grip for tying flies.
Walk into any well-stocked fly fishing store these days and one is confronted with a vast array of tying tools, materials and literature. Fly tiers, be they beginners or old hands, in all probability share a single frustration, that being a tying vice that does not hold the chosen hook in the correct orientation while tying a fly.
Most tying vices have some form of tapered bi-lateral jaw system, which is actuated or clamped by numerous mechanisms from various designers.
We have all heard the saying ‘think outside the square’ applied to any number of subjects and situations; interestingly a Czech fly enthusiast did just that and came up with an original design for a device to hold hooks.
Jan Tvrdek’s rotary vice differs from other mainstream vices in that the head is a total departure from the normal mechanisms. It employs a hardened steel front section in which a teardrop shaped hole is machined; this in turn is fitted into a front tapered stainless steel body section.
A hole is machined along the centre axis of the two mated components and a specially profiled hardened stainless steel shaft is installed into the head. At the rear of the head is a knurled knob which, when rotated clockwise, causes the hardened profiled shaft to advance into the teardrop shaped hole.
The shape of the tip and profiled hole is such that when a hook is placed into the hole and the locking pin advanced to engage the hook, it is securely held in place with absolutely no movement within the device.
In use the vice has held a range of hook sizes from large saltwater and cod patterns down to number 24 midge patterns for trout, with no difficulties whatsoever.
Apart from the radical head design, the vice is not dissimilar to other top of the line models, with components manufactured from stainless steel and aerospace grade aluminium.
The main headstock features two ball bearings for super smooth rotation along with an equally smooth tension adjustment; there is also a locking knob to lock the tying head in the normal tying position. Both the tying head and its support arm are adjustable to keep hook shanks on axis when rotation is required to form bodies or when winding hackle.
The vice comes standard with either a C clamp or pedestal base mount for tabletop use.
As with most high quality vices there is an accessory pack available as an optional extra. This includes a third hand, gallows attachment, waste catching bag and a white background board, all of which have generous scope for adjustment.
Having tied several dozen flies over a range of hook sizes it certainly is a rock-solid unit and a pleasure to use.
The review vice supplied by Flyfishers’ Outfitters, Cooma West, phone 02 6452 4519. The base model is priced at $400.